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MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

June 10, 2004

Gloria Park

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

Q. Very nice opening round today, Gloria. Thanks for joining us. 67, five birdies, one bogey. Can you start with some opening comments about the round?

(Scorecard read.)

Q. Any questions?

What did you think of the conditions of the golf course today, and are the greens as bad as everybody says they are.

GLORIA PARK: I would say the greens was kind of tricky, most part because we had rain before, like before we came here, and then many of the greens are kind of very tough to like all dried out in some spots. It's very hard to read the green and get the right speed with them. Some of the holes are a little slower and then some are a little fast, especially downward putts.

Other than that, when I had a practice round on Tuesday, they didn't cut the rough, and it was so high and thick. I think they cut the rough Tuesday or Wednesday morning it seems a little lower. I was expecting to be hitting with a pitching wedge or something from the rough. So I think I tried to hit most of the fairways and greens and that's the key for hitting the low scores, I think.

Q. Gloria, it looks like you made some most of your putts, 8 feet, 5 feet, 2 feet. Does that mean you were really on it, or is the iron game really important because of the conditions of the greens?

GLORIA PARK: Well, my I would say my strongest game is my iron shot. It was a little off the last couple of weeks. I think I figured it out this morning. I hit some good shots today. I would like to make a couple more putts today, but I did a pretty good job today. I'm pretty happy with what I did today. And I think when because this golf course, the greens are small, and when you're on the green, it's almost like birdie chance most of the putts. Hitting the good irons and making sure it hits the fairways, that's the key, yeah. That's what I did today.

Q. Now that you have been here several years, how much easier is it to sort of make your way around the circuit of tournaments in a different culture, and what were the hardest things to overcome, and what do you feel you are still adjusting to?

GLORIA PARK: This is my fifth year in the LPGA, and the first two years I found it very difficult to travel. I usually travel with my parents. I don't have brothers and sisters, so sometimes it's good to have somebody supporting me, but it's a lot of pressure, too. I travel with my mom, and maybe she's going to leave here after August.

I'm thinking just being five years in the LPGA, I have been learning a lot of things, and the players, we get friendly to each other. I was more involved in the LPGA than before. When I was first here, I felt like I was the only one playing. I didn't have many friends and stuff. It's all about how you're feeling, how you're thinking. I find it's very comfortable right now and then I try to enjoy myself out here playing.

Q. Gloria, you said you feel like you figured out your irons this morning. Was there something specific that happened or how did that happen?

GLORIA PARK: Well, last week there is a golf course in Chicago where we played, and the front 9 was supposed to be the scoring holes, and I was hitting like sand wedge and pitching wedge, and when I hit my 3 iron, I hit really good shots, but with the sand wedge, I missed the green last week. I like to hit my short iron.

I feel like I can get it close to all, but I didn't have any confidence that last week or this week until yesterday, and I just kept practicing and practicing, and I couldn't figure it out and this morning. I just felt something, and it just happened, you know. It's happening, one of those, I don't know, not really technical things, but I'm working with Butch Harmon right now since off season, and I keep thinking about when I have a lesson from him, practicing try to do the drills and what he gave me and stuff. I didn't know what I was doing wrong, and I did a couple different things, and then maybe just coming right after a couple shots, I think, yeah.

Q. Gloria, how have you played at this tournament in the past, and is this the kind of course that suits your game?

GLORIA PARK: Well, I play five times here, and first round I played good, and didn't play the rest of the week. I hit my driver longer than before. It's a little different picture. With a certain dogleg, you have to hit a perfect shot with the distance for the center of the fairway because it's going to be different.

I tried to just think about the best shot I can hit every hole, just one hole at a time, and just I think I hit most of them where I aimed it today, so not everything, but most of them.

Q. Do you feel like you are at a point in your career where you're ready to win a major and what would that mean to you? Do you think about that?

GLORIA PARK: Well, I won two tournaments before and I haven't won anything last year. I normally play better after summer, I don't know why. But this time I did a little better than last past couple years, and I would like to win a major, but this is only the first day, and I don't really think about winning the majors at this time. I want to enjoy out there every day, and one hole at a time, just play.

When you think about winning the major with a bogey, I'm going to be so frustrated with those. I'm going to play one hole and one day at a time.

Q. Anything else? All right. Thank you, Gloria.

GLORIA PARK: Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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